Ezio Auditore
I'm still here! Me! Ezio! Ezio Auditore! Ezio Auditore da Firenze, better known simply as 'Ezio, '''is a recurring protagonist from the ''Assassin's Creed ''series and a wrestler in VGCW. He played an important role in Season 2 as a member of The McMahon Elite Four, and competed in a tag team with another member, Raphael, until the Turtle's untimely release. In ''Assassin's Creed Ezio Auditore da Firenze is an assassin from 15th century Italy. Despite him wearing a special assassin uniform, people don't seem to realize he is one. Ezio hails from the Assassin's Creed series, an attempt to fuse "follow the marker" modern game design with the batshit plot of Metal Gear Solid. He stars in the trilogy-within-a-trilogy of Assassin's Creed II ''and its two sequels, ''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood ''and ''Assassin's Creed: Revelations. He's notable for being the only Assassin's Creed protagonist anyone liked, which explains why they made three games ''about him. In VGCW Ezio carried the daredevil athleticism he honed during his career as an assassin over to VGCW, using it to perform many high flying and exciting moves to dazzle the adoring crowd. The problem is that he also brought his crowd blending skills with him, which has unfortunately utterly backfired in VGCW, and he is marked as boring and unappealing to the crowd. This nevertheless hasn't prevented the assassin from experiencing a fair amount of success in his career as a vidya. He has consistently performed well in Royal Rumbles, once dispatching ''nine men in a Royal Rumble on 2012-11-21 - a record that still stands to this very day, won a King of the Ring tournament and faced Ganondorf in a championship match. None of which has done much to win him any fans. Beyond his ignored success, many of his defeats in the VGCW come from his multiple failures in his championship matches; he currently holds an overall record of 0-4 at securing titles (2 VGCW Championships, 1 Casual Championship, and 1 Tag Team Championship - though this was due to a DQ victory through THQuality). One of his most noteworthy endeavers throughout the early days of VGCW however, was an ongoing feud with Scorpion. The two would first meet in the finals of a King of the Ring Tournament, which Ezio went on to win, then would go on to have numerous more encounters in Elimination Chambers, Royal Rumbles, Battle Royales and even singles matches over the course of the first few seasons. Season 2: Assassin Without Honor Ezio was seen leaving a limo as part of The McMahon Elite Four on 2013-01-17, strongly implying that the already unpopular wrestler had made a heel turn and became a "Templar". This was later confirmed when he and Gary Oak ganged up on Phoenix Wright as Nick was about to reveal some crucial evidence that Solid Snake had uncovered in the Turnabout Turnbuckle investigation. Nappa soon joined the fray, and by the power of Ghost Trick, Ezio and Gary were defeated. He and Gary later teamed up with Raphael to face the investigators again in a six-man tag team elimination match also involving Snake, but lost again. Ezio was the first to be eliminated from the match. The faction did not last long after Bazza was arrested. Mr. L went rogue and went after Raphael during what was supposed to be his title defense match against Ganondorf. Then, on the Season 2 finale, Gary Oak decided he would smell Raphael and Ezio later since no one was paying him to be a part of this lame boy band anymore. Following Gary Oak's departure from the faction, Raphael and Ezio redubbed their alliance the "Elite Two" and would later begin competing in tag team matches. Season 3: Championship Pursuits On February 18th 2013, Ezio competed in a Six-Man Battle Royal, again for a shot at the Casual title. While looking to eliminate Ash Ketchum, jumping onto his shoulders to execute the Eagle Dive, his former partner Luigi (AKA Mr. L) interrupted the move when a punch meant for Captain Falcon also hit Ezio. Maybe Weegee hadn't forgiven Ezio for the beating he took from him three weeks prior. Ash, who would eventually win the match, took swift advantage of this development and finished Ezio off to the delight of many fans, making him the third man eliminated in the match. Following that loss, Ezio decided to try his hand at tag team competition alongside Raphael. The beginning of his tag team career was marred by scandal, however, as during their match against Wario Ware Inc. on the 2013-02-22 broadcast, Raphael and Ezio won by DQ when Waluigi got counted out for being in the ring for too long, despite Ezio having been in the ring just as long and Wario having Raphael in a potential winning pin. This seemingly dirty win nevertheless earned them a shot at the Tag Team titles held by Gerudo Skies. A week later, on the 2013-02-28 show, Ezio finally managed to earn himself some respect from the crowd after he performed very well in both that night's Royal Rumble, in which he eliminated two of his old stablemates, and later in his tag team match, in which he carried his partner Raphael to victory against Gerudo Skies. But there was a problem: the victory was another DQ one, this time with Zangief getting counted out for being in the ring too long, which caused the title to not change hands. Thomas McRef was now heavily suspected of taking bribes from the Elite Two due to their getting two victories by disqualification in a row, both involving questionable judgment calls by McRef. Still, Raphael's performance in both matches was abysmal compared to Ezio's despite the turtle being a former champion whose claim to infamy was overcoming The Gerudo Curse. Could it be that Raph was bribing the ref without telling his partner? Lack of investigative action undertaken by the VGCW brass and McRef's later demise at the hands of Gabe Newell has consigned this mystery to the annals of time. Ezio soon resumed his solo career by participating in another six-man Battle Royal for a Casual Championship match. While his performance was not as impressive as what he gave in his last appearance, there were no signs of foul play from the assassin; another reason to suspect Raphael of being the one who was making deals with the now-deceased McRef. History repeated itself with a rather odd twist when the match ended in another massive upset, but this time in favor of JonTron. The match, while not a victory for Ezio, shed light on the fact that he was no longer the most hated wrestler in VGCW. Throughout much of 2013, JonTron and his partner Egoraptor, along with Locke Cole and of course Raphael, had experienced a decline in popularity not unlike what Ezio experienced before them. While still far from the most popular, the assassin could rest a bit easier without the audience calling for his head so frequently. Opening the 2013-03-19 show, Ezio traded blows with Scorpion, his final opponent in the KOTR tournament he won the previous November, and the man he eliminated from an early Elimination Chamber. The two performers would put on an exciting match, with Ezio almost managing to put his foe through the barricade. The hooded rivals would continue fighting neck and neck, but in the end he was unable to keep the Kombatant down and was finally beaten by his most consistant enemy after a suplex. Season 4: Incognito? As Season 4 began with VGCW now under the control of Dracula, there were no indications that Ezio paid any mind to the regime change. Instead, he took to in-ring action as he normally would, first by participating in the Royal Rumble that took place during the season premiere. Ezio unfortunately ran afoul of Scorpion again, and was eliminated from the match by his ninja rival. Ezio and Raphael would later return to the ring to battle Adam Jensen and Gabe Newell, the two finalists of The Great Tournament, in a match arranged by general manager Dracula. The Two worked past the tension caused by their earlier problems and managed to work together in unison, using their experience as a team to gain the advantage over Gabe and Jensen, who were used to fighting on their own. Although it seemed like the Elite Two would finally win a match clean, and against two of the most dominant competitors in the company no less, Jensen and Gabe finally got their act together and turned the match around with a hot tag. Gabe managed to lock in the Wallet Squeeze on Ezio out of nowhere, and Jensen took Raph out of the ring where the two brawled. Distracted by Jensen, Raphael was unable to save Ezio, who tapped out to the dreaded submission. Ezio and Raphael received a second opportunity to challenge Gerudo Skies for the Co-Op Championships when they took part in a series of tag team matches to determine the #1 contenders. First they faced off against the Game Grumps, and though both Ezio and his partner were much hated by the crowd, they received a greater amount of audience support than usual, for the Game Grumps were even more reviled than the Elite Two. Ezio gave it his all, and though Raphael did most of the dirty work and scored the final pinfall, the victory over two of the most hated Vidyas in the company gave the team a much-needed Grump Bump. Additionally, the win earned the Elite Two a #1 contenders match against GameCenter FU. Ultimately, Ezio would take the loss for his team when the Nerd countered his pinning combination, keeping him pinned to the mat for well past the required three-count as the referee ushered both men's partners out of the ring, indicating that the Elite Two had exhausted the officiating bias in their favor. Even so, the tag team match was a long and evenly-contested bout that left the Two looking strong even in defeat. Ezio would later meet Flint in a King of The Ring Tournament, and gave the newcomer a hell of a fight, but he was eventually defeated. Discussion has recently arisen about Ezio despite him not making an appearance since the KOTR, as when Solid Snake and Little Mac went back in time during the Season 4 finale End Game, it was discovered that Ezio's former employer Mr. Mcmahon wasn't the evil corporate boss he was thought to be. The truth came out that Baz, along with Ezio, Raph, and Gary, were attempting to prevent a time paradox and subsequently the destruction of the Universe. It's unlikely that Ezio knew about his higher purpose, but due to him being the only member of the Elite Four to never really show any heelish qualities, it leaves some to wonder whether or not he truly is a heel. A more neutral standing could be reinforced from his previous matches with Raph as the Elite Two, where he fought hard and did almost all the work, only for his partner to have allegedly paid off the Referee with delicious Italian Pizza. Although Ezio has managed to find a small niche of the crowd who like and respect him for his wrestling ability, he still has a long way to go before becoming a fan favorite. Season 5: Treading Water Making his first appearance of season 5 on July 20th, Ezio would fight the Red Cyclone himself, Zangief. In a back and forth match, Ezio would use his superior speed and agility to steadily wear down Zangief, until the Protector of The Russian skies was finally grounded, which would lead to Ezio landing a huge leap of faith and getting the 3 count. After the match, Ezio would attempt to beat down Zangief with a chair, only to be stopped by Zangief's former tag partner, Ganondorf! He quickly slipped into the shadows to escape, surviving to fight another day.(although the same couldn't be said for Zangief, who was promptly betrayed by his former partner). Ezio, perhaps blending in too much, would make scarce appearances throughout the rest of season 5, the most noteworthy appearances being a loss to Solid Snake, and subsequently getting his win back in a triple threat match also involving Adam Jensen. While doing moderately well in singles competition, The Elite Two had seen better days, losing a pair of tag team matches against Shadaloo and Dream Teamcast. Ezio made his final apperance fighting newcomer Goemon, and despite the two being high fliers, The Crowd were robbed of a thrilling match due to a quick win for Goemon via submission. Season 6: Respecting the Creed With an extremely mediocre season 5 having come and gone and his Tag Team partner unceremoniously released from the company, Ezio would make his first appearance in WWE 2K14 on November 19th in a #1 Contenders match for the Casual Championship. In a huge surprise however, Ezio was actually cheered by the audience, for both his impressive new CAW and entrance, and the fact that no one really even knew why they still booed him. Ezio would have an impressive showing, eliminating Luigi with an Eagle Dive and stealth assassinating Flint. After having succesfully made it to the final 2, he was caught by Knuckles The Echidna in a submission hold and was forced to tap out. Knuckles would end up recieving a fair amount of heat for this however, showing that Ezio had finally found support from the fans. Despite these newfound cheers, boos still rang out from the crowd. Eager to prove himself to his haters that the days of the Elite 4 were well and truly gone, he took to the ring on December 3rd to face an opponent hated even more than he is; Dan Hibiki. Dan would land multiple finishers on the Assassin, but all it took was one stab with his Hidden Blade Heart Punch to assassinate put him down, giving him the victory and cheers of the crowd. Though there was still some booing, the cheers managed to edge out the hate. Ezio could now look towards a brighter future in the VGCW. Ezio, with his newfound popularity, was thrown into a First Blood match versus The Prince of Darkness himself on December 10th. The cheers still ran strong for the Assassin, and after a long drawn out and intense battle, Dracula made Ezio draw red after a chain of reversals and a kick to the face...However, some of his blood splattered onto Dracula, causing the referee to think that it was Dracula who bled, and gave the win to Ezio. The now honorable Assassin refused to accept this false victory and asked The General Manager, Gabe Newell, for a rematch between the two. Ezio would be confronted by Dracula the next broadcast, and it was revealed that they both had come to the same conclusion: Ezio vs Dracula, no submissions, no disqualifications, pinfall only, Final Destination End Game 6. Non-Royal Rumble Record Gallery HiddenBlade.gif|In this First Blood match, Ezio managed to make Dracula bleed by using a hidden blade. (Actually, no. Just 2Kuality.)